Reforming Music : Music and the Religious Reformations of the Sixteenth Century

Winner of the RefoRC Book Award 2017 Five hundred years ago a monk nailed his theses to a church gate in Wittenberg. The sound of Luther’s mythical hammer, however, was by no means the only aural manifestation of the religious Reformations. This book describes the birth of Lutheran Chorales and Calvinist Psalmody; of how music was practised by Catholic nuns, Lutheran schoolchildren, battling Huguenots, missionaries and martyrs, cardinals at Trent and heretics in hiding, at a time when Palestrina, Lasso and Tallis were composing their masterpieces, and forbidden songs were concealed, smuggled and sung in taverns and princely courts alike. Music expressed faith in the Evangelicals’ emerging worships and in the Catholics’ ancient rites; through it new beliefs were spread and heresy countered; analysed by humanist theorists, it comforted and consoled miners, housewives and persecuted preachers; it was both the symbol of new, conflicting identities and the only surviving trace of a lost unity of faith. The music of the Reformations, thus, was music reformed, music reforming and the reform of music: this book shows what the Reformations sounded like, and how music became one of the protagonists in the religious conflicts of the sixteenth century. Preface Acknowledgements Contents Introduction Abbreviations and reference works Chapter 1 – Framing a century 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Theology: the issues at stake 1.2.1. How are we saved? 1.2.2. Justified by grace 1.2.3. Substantial differences 1.3. Culture, art and thought in the sixteenth century 1.3.1. Thinking the sixteenth century 1.3.2. Applied humanism 1.3.3. Philosophy and theology 1.3.4. Science and literature 1.3.5. Visual arts 1.4. Music 1.4.1. Setting a text 1.4.2. Travelling music, travelling musicians 1.4.3. Genres in vocal music 1.4.4. Aprotagonist: the madrigal 1.4.5. Anursery for opera 1.5. Society and politics 1.6. Church matters 1.6.1. At the roots of the Reformations 1.6.2. 1500–1525: Enter Luther 1.6.3. 1526–1550: Spreading the word 1.6.4. 1551–1575: Consolidating confessions 1.6.5. 1576–1600: Finding a modus vivendi Chapter 2 – Music, society and culture 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Music and faith: an overview 2.2.1. Aresounding landscape 2.2.2. Atime of religious renewal 2.3. Humanism and music 2.3.1. Sounding Greek 2.3.2. Dialoguing with Plato (and Aristotle) 2.3.3. Fashioning antiquity 2.3.4. At the sources of Christian music 2.3.5. “Should God be praised with song?” 2.3.6. Magisterial music 2.3.7. Words, words, words 2.3.7.1. Moving music 2.3.7.2. Plain text 2.3.8. Symbol and fascination 2.3.9. “Ornamental neighings”: Erasmus on music 2.4. As you like it: aesthetic trends 2.4.1. Style matters 2.4.2. Acappella or accompanied? 2.4.3. Enjoying polyphony 2.4.4. Seducing or sanctifying? 2.4.5. Rhetorical questions 2.4.6. The effects of affects 2.4.7. Sensing music Chapter 3 – Criticising sacred music 3.1. Introduction 3.2. “Sacred” music? 3.2.1. Plainchant: the daily bread 3.2.2. Latin-texted polyphony: resounding feast 3.2.2.1. Making music for Mass 3.2.2.2. Mostly motets 3.2.3. Praying in music 3.3. Crisis, critics and criticalities 3.3.1. Serving the Word? 3.3.1.1. Enrapturing melismas 3.3.1.2. Afree rein for Sequences 3.3.1.3. Hearing the unsaid 3.3.1.4. “Intelligo ut credam”: the importance of understanding 3.3.2. The morals of music 3.3.2.1. Lady Music 3.3.2.2. Soft and lascivious 3.3.2.3. “Moch musick marreth mens maners” 3.3.2.4. Practical problems 3.3.2.5. Controlling the choir 3.3.2.6. Awaste of time and money 3.3.2.7. Sounding immoral 3.3.2.8. The volume of “wild vociferations” 3.3.2.9. Cats, goats, bulls and donkeys 3.3.2.10. Virtuous and virtuosos 3.3.2.11. Laughable gestures and laudable behaviours 3.3.2.12. The force of gravity 3.3.3. Aletter by Bernardino Cirillo 3.3.3.1. The letter’s letter 3.3.3.2. The letter’s spirit Chapter 4 – The reformers’ concept of music 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Where the Reformers saw eye to eye 4.2.1. From word to Word 4.2.2. Sources as resources 4.2.3. Reforming Church music 4.2.3.1. “A cantantibus intellectus”: words for whom? 4.2.3.2. “Not so excellent a thing”: the risks of music 4.2.3.3. Creation and creativity 4.2.4. What’s the use of music? 4.2.4.1. Agift of God 4.2.4.2. “Praise him with lute and harp” 4.2.4.3. Chords of concord 4.2.4.4. Fostering fervour 4.2.4.5. “Faith comes from hearing” 4.2.4.6. A“medicine for passions” 4.2.4.7. “Zu Frewde”: the joy of music 4.2.4.8. Dispelling devils 4.2.4.9. Voicing the Gospel 4.2.4.10. Shall or may? Music as adiaphoron 4.2.4.11. Music for the end of the world 4.2.5. Orchestrating praise: the role of instruments 4.3. Various views: Music for the Reformers 4.3.1. Luther: “Musicam semper amavi” 4.3.1.1. Origins and originality 4.3.1.2. The principal principles 4.3.1.3. Tuning the tenets 4.3.2. Zwingli: nailing the organs 4.3.3. “Radical” Reforms 4.3.4. Bucer: Sacred Music only 4.3.5. Calvin: cautions and chanting 4.3.5.1. An increasing interest... 4.3.5.2. ...And persisting perplexities 4.3.6. Anglican antinomies 4.3.7. Catholic continuity 4.3.7.1. Hearing Mass 4.3.7.2. Worship for whom? Chapter 5 – Music in the Evangelical Churches: Luther 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Amusic-loving Reformer 5.3. The forms of Reform 5.3.1. Latin roots, Evangelical fruits 5.3.1.1. Reordering the Ordinary 5.3.1.2. Hours of worship 5.3.2. Venturing the vernacular 5.3.2.1. Translating tradition 5.3.2.2. Singing Scripture 5.3.2.3. “Christian improvements” 5.3.2.4. Starting from scratch 5.3.2.5. Forging a repertoire 5.3.2.6. Led by the Lieder 5.3.3. Collecting chorales 5.3.3.1. Objects of piety: The Lutheran hymnbooks 5.3.4. The daily sound 5.3.4.1. Asinging Church 5.3.4.2. Our daily hymn 5.3.4.3. Lehre: Learning from the Lieder 5.3.4.4. Trost: Comforted by the Chorales 5.3.4.5. Creating communities 5.3.4.6. Disseminating doctrines in music 5.3.5. Arange of genres 5.3.6. Music at the borders of Lutheranism 5.4. Singing in Strasbourg 5.4.1. The Strasbourg style 5.5. The Bohemian Brethren Chapter 6 – Music in the Evangelical Churches: Calvin 6.1. Introduction 6.2. The power of psalmody 6.2.1. Metrical psalmody before Calvin 6.2.2. Marot: Psalter and verse 6.2.3. Preparing for the Psalter 6.3. The Genevan Psalter 6.3.1. Two Reformers, two attitudes 6.3.2. Metres and melodies 6.3.3. The Genevan Psalter outside Geneva 6.3.4. Our daily Psalm 6.3.5. Musical flags 6.3.6. Psalms in polyphony 6.3.7. Instruments and house devotion 6.4. Constance and Basel 6.5. The Souterliedekens Chapter 7 – Music in the Church of England 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Reforming rites 7.2.1. Under Henry VIII 7.2.2. Under Edward VI 7.2.3. The Book of Common Prayer 7.2.4. Under Elizabeth I 7.3. Psalms, psalters and Reformations 7.3.1. Coverdale: Continental influences 7.3.2. Sternhold: Psalms at Court 7.3.3. “The Lord’s Songs in a foreign land” 7.3.4. Elizabethan Psalmody: the “Sternhold and Hopkins” 7.3.5. Singing the Scottish Reformation 7.3.6. Psalms, poetry and polyphony 7.3.7. Psalms, piety and politics 7.4. The “Godly Ballads” 7.5. Our daily music 7.5.1. Educating in music 7.5.2. Private piety 7.6. Between Court and parish church 7.6.1. Shaping an “Anglican” style 7.6.2. Setting the Service 7.6.3. Byrd: A Catholic at Court Chapter 8 – Music and the Council of Trent 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Trent and tradition 8.2.1. Theological themes 8.2.2. Self- or Counter-Reformation? 8.2.3. Drafts, Debates, Decrees 8.2.4. Uses and abuses 8.2.5. Fighting “lasciviousness” 8.2.6. Singing for the Pope 8.3. Who was who 8.3.1. Ercole Gonzaga: President and patron 8.3.2. Giovanni Morone: Monody first 8.3.3. Otto Truchsess: Talents and treasures 8.3.4. Gabriele Paleotti: Respect and rigour 8.3.5. Carlo Borromeo: Influential and idiosyncratic 8.3.6. Kerle’s Preces: The Council’s soundtrack 8.4. The Council on music 8.4.1. Setting the stage 8.4.2. Enumerating errors 8.4.3. A“house of prayer” 8.4.4. Rescuing polyphony? 8.4.5. Music in the convents 8.4.6. Concluding the Council 8.5. What did not happen at the Council 8.5.1. Palestrina: polyphony’s saviour? 8.5.2. Prescriptions or proscriptions? 8.5.3. Open issues Chapter 9 – Music after Trent 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Music after Trent 9.2.1. Hardly a revolution 9.2.2. Purifying worship 9.2.3. Anew clerical class 9.2.4. From global to local 9.3. Music and liturgy after Trent 9.3.1. Reaffirming rituality 9.3.2. Revising rites 9.3.3. New needs 9.3.4. Freeing plainchant from “ineptitude” and “malice” 9.3.5. Polyphony after Trent 9.3.5.1. Exploring post-Tridentine aesthetics 9.3.5.2. Polychorality: a new option 9.3.6. The Cardinals’ Commission 9.3.6.1. Observing (and by-passing) the “Council’s requirements” 9.3.7. Celebrating with instruments 9.4. Religious music in post-Tridentine Catholicism 9.4.1. Emotional motets 9.4.2. Local languages 9.4.3. Piety and poetry 9.4.4. Devotional music outside Italy 9.4.5. Processions and pilgrimages 9.4.6. In the sphere of spirituality 9.5. Reforming Catholicism 9.5.1. The theological framework 9.5.2. The Jesuits and music: forbidden, admitted, promoted 9.5.2.1. The first Jesuits and the unsung Office 9.5.2.2. Asensible preaching 9.5.2.3. College education 9.5.2.4. Performing holiness 9.5.2.5. The mission of music 9.5.3. Filippo Neri: Laity and Laude 9.5.3.1. From Florence to Rome 9.5.4. Brethren in Christ: The Confraternities 9.6. Catholic music locally 9.6.1. Chapels and patrons 9.6.2. Milan: Reforming from the roots 9.6.3. Rome: Splendour and spirituality 9.6.4. Venice: Enjoying magnificence 9.6.5. Mantua: a workshop of the Catholic Reformation 9.6.6. Spain: Penitence and pomp 9.6.7. Bavaria: the outpost of Catholicism Chapter 10 – Music and confessionalisation 10.1. Introduction 10.2. Building confessional boundaries 10.3. The confessionalisation of music 10.3.1. Faith first 10.3.2. Preaching in music 10.3.3. “As long as I live”: music and martyrdom 10.3.3.1. “The Story of Brother Henry”: sung epics of martyrdom 10.3.3.2. “We have become a spectacle”: Byrd and the English martyrs 10.3.4. “Let God rise up”: battle hymns 10.3.5. Pamphlets, broadsheets and polemics 10.3.6. Enchanting chant 10.3.7. Conquering space through sound 10.3.7.1. Walking singers 10.3.7.2. Seizing the Service 10.3.7.3. Sung sarcasm 10.3.7.4. Paraphrase and parody 10.3.7.5. The time of the Antichrist 10.3.7.6. Changes in music are changes in doctrine 10.4. Psalms for all 10.5. Confessional Contrafacture 10.5.1. Songs of scorn 10.6. The contexts of confessionalisation 10.6.1. “Oh Benno, you holy man...” 10.6.2. Countering the Interim 10.6.3. Contesting the calendar 10.6.4. Courtly intrigues 10.7. “Save me, o God”: echoes of persecution 10.7.1. Silencing songs 10.7.2. Martyred musicians 10.7.3. Concealing and revealing Chapter 11 – Music beyond confessionalisation 11.1. Introduction 11.2. Seeking harmony 11.2.1. Tuning the differences 11.2.2. Flutes, lutes and Luther 11.2.3. Creating communion through prayer 11.2.4. Joining theology with praise 11.3. Finding harmony 11.3.1. Consonant doctrines 11.3.2. Crossing the confines 11.3.3. Sung pleas for unity 11.3.4. Bridging social layers 11.4. Like prayer, like song 11.4.1. The thread of psalmody 11.4.2. The thread of piety 11.4.3. The thread of mysticism 11.4.3.1. Defeating the devil 11.4.3.2. Consoling and comforting 11.4.4. The thread of education 11.4.4.1. “The brim around the cup”: singing the Catechism 11.4.4.2. “By way of pleasant song”: enjoying Sunday school 11.4.4.3. “Sing like the angels in heaven”: publishing Catechism songs 11.4.4.4. “Night and day”: the forms of sung doctrine 11.4.5. The thread of musicianship 11.4.6. The thread of solicitude 11.4.7. Inspiring hymnbooks 11.4.7.1. Vehe: A Catholic pioneer 11.4.7.2. Leisentrit: An example of Counter-Reformation 11.4.7.3. Sharing songs 11.4.7.4 Responses to Calvinist psalmody 11.5. Music across boundaries 11.5.1. Adopting and adapting 11.5.2. The challenge of beauty 11.5.3 Asserting the sacredness of creation 11.5.4. Holy and spiritual songs 11.6. Musicians beyond boundaries 11.6.1. Ecumenism in music 11.6.2. Finding the language of musical dialogue Chapter 12 – Music and women 12.1. Introduction 12.2. Truths, myths and stereotypes 12.2.1. Frau Musika or women’s music? 12.2.2. Mary Magdalene as a musician 12.2.3. Scanty sources 12.2.4. Social status 12.2.5. Patronesses and prioresses 12.2.6. The impact of the Reformations 12.3. Voices of Evangelical women 12.3.1. In the Lutheran Church 12.3.1.1. The “virtuous matrons” and their daughters 12.3.1.2. Girls “prophesy”: announcing the Kingdom’s advent 12.3.1.3. Cruciger: from the very beginning 12.3.1.4. Schütz-Zell: a resourceful Reformer 12.3.2. In the Calvinist Church 12.3.3. Living (and loving) psalmody 12.3.3.1. Creative resonances 12.3.4. Among Anabaptists 12.4. Voices of Catholic women 12.4.1. Voices from the Convents 12.4.1.1. Voicing resistance 12.4.1.2. Convents as cultural centres 12.4.1.3. “Only voice and no sight” 12.4.1.4. Music for hearers? 12.4.1.5. Teaching music to the nuns 12.4.1.6. A rich repertoire 12.4.1.7. Music for money 12.4.1.8. Songs for sanctity 12.4.2. (Un)veiled voices 12.4.2.1. Aleotti: how many of them? 12.4.2.2. Community concerts 12.4.2.3. Sessa: better than Monteverdi? 12.4.2.4. Bovia, Strozzi, Baptista and their sisters 12.4.2.5. The convent scribes: transmitting tastes 12.4.3. Reforms, rules and religious women 12.4.3.1. Paleotti: muting music 12.4.3.2. The Borromeos: between rigour and reform 12.4.4. Voices from the laity 12.4.4.1. Composing spiritual madrigals 12.4.4.2. Voices from Northern Europe 12.5. Voices from a Christian polyphony Conclusions Glossary Bibliography Primary Secondary Index of Names Index of Subjects Five hundred years ago a monk nailed his theses to a church gate in Wittenberg. The sound of Luther’s mythical hammer, however, was by no means the only aural manifestation of the religious Reformations.
This book describes the birth of Lutheran Chorales and Calvinist Psalmody; of how music was practised by Catholic nuns, Lutheran schoolchildren, battling Huguenots, missionaries and martyrs, cardinals at Trent and heretics in hiding, at a time when Palestrina, Lasso and Tallis were composing their masterpieces, and forbidden songs were concealed, smuggled and sung in taverns and princely courts alike.
Music expressed faith in the Evangelicals’ emerging worships and in the Catholics’ ancient rites; through it new beliefs were spread and heresy countered; analysed by humanist theorists, it comforted and consoled miners, housewives and persecuted preachers; it was both the symbol of new, conflicting identities and the only surviving trace of a lost unity of faith.
The music of the Reformations, thus, was music reformed, music reforming and the reform of music: this book shows what the Reformations sounded like, and how music became one of the protagonists in the religious conflicts of the sixteenth century.